Property transactions rose in June 42 per cent to 657 compared to the respective month of 2015, which is the highest since May 2012, the department of lands and surveys said.

The increase in property transactions came mainly from Limassol, Nicosia and Paphos, where property transactions rose in June an annual 64 per cent, 61 per cent and 48 per cent to 222, 98 and 183 respectively, the department said in a statement on its website.

Property transactions in the Larnaca and Famagusta district rose 8 per cent to 120 and 3 per cent to 34, the department said.

The number of properties that changed hands in the first six months of the year rose 28 per cent to 3012, compared to the respective period last year. This year’s figures also include properties acquired by banks as part of debt restructurings.

The total number of property transfers to foreigners in June was 442 compared to 256 in the respective half of 2015, which is 73 per cent more, the department said.

Auditor general Odysseas Michaelides said that Transport Minister Marios Demetriades largely ignored an advice of the Audit Office to include deterrent penalties and guarantees in the contracts for the commercialisation of